Give A Note is committed to supporting educators who excel with their students – educators who guide students to use their voice through music to find place and belonging in this world. Music educators are tasked to identify how their students’ unique abilities can add value to the music community. Mostly that means encouraging their students to experiment with sound, innovate with the tools and resources around them, listen to all different genres and styles of music, and just explore to build confidence in their own abilities.
Students may discover that they will thrive better in a music business role, but through a music classroom, they’ll develop a deep-seated love and appreciation for music itself and the community that it builds around them.
Our Artist Ambassador, Ruby Amanfu, experienced an educator in Middle School who missed an opportunity to guide Ruby to see what was possible with her unique sound. While music stayed in her soul, Ruby felt limited by the belief that her voice could not contribute to a viable career path in the music creator community.
Here’s her story:
Fortunately for us all, Ruby’s college educator helped her leverage her abilities to add complexity and value to the professional music world. Ruby is a formidable songwriter and performer. She now holds two GRAMMY Nominations for “Song of the Year” for co-writing “Hard Place” by H.E.R. (2020) and “A Beautiful Noise” by Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlile (2022), and collaborations with Jack White and John Prine, among others. She also serves as the Recording Academy Nashville Chapter Board President saying, “I’ll do what I can in these next two years to make more room on the porch for all of us.”
We are deeply grateful for Ruby’s contributions and support for equity in music education as a Give A Note Artist Ambassador.